Sprawler
23rd Apr 2005, 00:08
I've noticed a number of posts from people looking for hour building options. As I've just come back from four weeks hour building in Canada, I thought I'd share my experiences here in the hope of benefiting someone else in the same position as I was.
I found the choice of hour building options, one of the hardest decisions I've had to make. There are just so many options to chose from, from around the world. Plus, its not that easy to just pop down to Australia and check somewhere out. That's what makes forums like these so beneficial.
One of the most important factors for me was weather. I had initially planned to start my hour building in the Autumn. I looked at some of the Southern Hemisphere options, such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. After careful consideration I ruled these places out for several reasons. Australia and New Zealand were just not going to be cost effective. The hourly hire rates were more expensive than in Canada/USA and by the time you factor in air fare, the cost was even more. I was initially quite keen on South Africa as its a place I really want to visit. However, again hire rates and air fare were going to be more than in Can/USA. More importantly though, as I also wanted to complete my night rating, in order to fly solo at night in South Africa, you must have a South African PPL. This would mean completing all their ground exams and a flight test. After having just complete my ATPL exams, the thought of doing more exams just didn't appeal to me.
So, I looked to the good old US of A! I applied for the foreign licence validation and started emailing schools in Florida, South Carolina, California, Arizona and Nevada. I was bitterly disappointed with the response I received. At lot of places were just not interested in the lowly hour builder. I emailed several high profile schools in South Florida that are popular amongst Europeans and to this day I am still waiting for a response.
As it was looking more and more likely that it would be March before I was in a position to start my hour building, I figured that the weather in Canada would be staring to warm up a bit so again I looked at my options here. I had looked at Harv's Air in Steinbach, Manitoba before based on recommendations and posts from other people on this forum. I emailed Adam Penner and was very impressed to receive an email that very day with detailed answers to all my questions. In fact, every email that I sent Adam was replied to promptly, something not one single school from all the other schools I had emailed were able to do. After many, many questions and a careful analysis of cost, aircraft and accommodation I decided to go to Harv's Air.
I have to admit, sitting in the aircraft in Toronto on my way to Winnipeg, being de-iced and seeing all the snow upon arrival in Winnipeg, I was wondering if I had made the right decision in coming to Canada. The thought of hitting the beach in Florida after a day's flying and seeing lots of beautiful girls in skimpy bikinis, was suddenly very appealing. In the end though, I couldn't have picked a better time of year to go. I got to experience the extreme cold during the first couple weeks and beautiful warm spring weather during my last week. I logged just over 80 hours in four weeks and only lost one day due to weather! I don't think I've ever seen the sun shine as much and for so long as when I was there, even on holidays in Spain/Portugal.
Upon arrival in Winnipeg, (yes, it was bloody cold) Adam was there to meet me and took me down to the house I was staying at for the first couple days in Steinbach. Harv's Air provide two accommodation options. One is a house in Steinbach town and they also have three houses (trailers) located at the airfield. If you are staying in town, they will let you use one of the school cars, free of charge, to get to and from the airfield. I spent a couple nights there until a room became free at the school. Accommodation in both places is excellent. There's a good mix of both Canadian and International students both in the school and staying at the houses, so you get to meet people from all over the world. When I was there, there were a good few of us from Europe and a few guys from India, Oman and Kenya. I have to say, the on-site accommodation at Harv's Air was a big factor for me. Its great living so close, as you can just come and go as you please. Its a great feeling to be able to get up in the morning, wander over to the flight school, take a look at the weather and say, "yep, I think I'll go flying today." They also have a couple cars that you can rent to go into town for groceries or whatever else you might need to do. Steinbach itself is a quirky little town but the people were just so friendly and helpful. Its amazing but I actually kinda miss the place!
I wont go into all the school has offer as they do a good enough job of this on their website. Its a small, family run school and has a real family atmosphere. Everyone there is so friendly and they go out of their way to introduce themselves to you. The instructors are all first class. I never heard anyone complain about their instructor. If you have any questions, they are always willing to stop and help you out. All the aircraft are in good condition. Again, you can check out the fleet on the website. I mostly flew their C152's and also the Warrior. They have a pretty good computerised booking system and as long as you book a day or two in advance you wont have a problem. I certainly never had any problems getting an aircraft. There's a dedicated dispatch staff to help and they have their own maintenance facility on site.
The airspace is southern Manitoba is wide open, although it can get pretty busy in the circuit. Steinbach North is located just to the north of Steinbach and is about 2 minutes flying time from Steinbach South. If I wanted to do some circuit practice and Steinbach South was too busy, I used to just go up there and at most there might be one or two other aircraft in the circuit. Winnipeg International is about 30nm to the north and there was never any problems getting in for a touch and go. ATC were always very friendly and helpful. Its great to be able to go in there and mix it up with the big boys. They'll usually let you fly over downtown on the way back too.
It took a bit of time getting used to navigating across the snow covered prairies, plus Manitoba is fairly flat and featureless but I quickly got used to it and found it easier navigating when there was snow on the ground as the roads and towns tended to stand out more. As you fly east into Ontario, the landscape changes dramatically into lakes and forest. Its incredibly beautiful. Most of the aircraft are equipped with GPS anyway, so if you do find yourself getting lost, you can always cross check your position with that.
One of the highlights of my four weeks was flying down to the US. A great experience. While I was there, one of the other hour builder's went to Toronto for a few days and the guys I stayed with have just headed off on a big trip to Calgary during the week and if the weather conditions are right, they'll head over the Rockies and on to Vancouver. I'm so jealous as it would be an awesome trip!
I certainly have no complaints in choosing Harv's Air and wouldn't hesitate in recommending it to someone else but like anything in this business, do as much research as possible before you part with your cash. Harv's Air suited me and I was really glad in my decision but that's not to say it will suit you or your needs. Look at all your options.
If anyone has any queries or questions about the school, please feel free to PM me and I'll try and reply to you as soon as I can.
All the best in your decision.
Sprawler
I found the choice of hour building options, one of the hardest decisions I've had to make. There are just so many options to chose from, from around the world. Plus, its not that easy to just pop down to Australia and check somewhere out. That's what makes forums like these so beneficial.
One of the most important factors for me was weather. I had initially planned to start my hour building in the Autumn. I looked at some of the Southern Hemisphere options, such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. After careful consideration I ruled these places out for several reasons. Australia and New Zealand were just not going to be cost effective. The hourly hire rates were more expensive than in Canada/USA and by the time you factor in air fare, the cost was even more. I was initially quite keen on South Africa as its a place I really want to visit. However, again hire rates and air fare were going to be more than in Can/USA. More importantly though, as I also wanted to complete my night rating, in order to fly solo at night in South Africa, you must have a South African PPL. This would mean completing all their ground exams and a flight test. After having just complete my ATPL exams, the thought of doing more exams just didn't appeal to me.
So, I looked to the good old US of A! I applied for the foreign licence validation and started emailing schools in Florida, South Carolina, California, Arizona and Nevada. I was bitterly disappointed with the response I received. At lot of places were just not interested in the lowly hour builder. I emailed several high profile schools in South Florida that are popular amongst Europeans and to this day I am still waiting for a response.
As it was looking more and more likely that it would be March before I was in a position to start my hour building, I figured that the weather in Canada would be staring to warm up a bit so again I looked at my options here. I had looked at Harv's Air in Steinbach, Manitoba before based on recommendations and posts from other people on this forum. I emailed Adam Penner and was very impressed to receive an email that very day with detailed answers to all my questions. In fact, every email that I sent Adam was replied to promptly, something not one single school from all the other schools I had emailed were able to do. After many, many questions and a careful analysis of cost, aircraft and accommodation I decided to go to Harv's Air.
I have to admit, sitting in the aircraft in Toronto on my way to Winnipeg, being de-iced and seeing all the snow upon arrival in Winnipeg, I was wondering if I had made the right decision in coming to Canada. The thought of hitting the beach in Florida after a day's flying and seeing lots of beautiful girls in skimpy bikinis, was suddenly very appealing. In the end though, I couldn't have picked a better time of year to go. I got to experience the extreme cold during the first couple weeks and beautiful warm spring weather during my last week. I logged just over 80 hours in four weeks and only lost one day due to weather! I don't think I've ever seen the sun shine as much and for so long as when I was there, even on holidays in Spain/Portugal.
Upon arrival in Winnipeg, (yes, it was bloody cold) Adam was there to meet me and took me down to the house I was staying at for the first couple days in Steinbach. Harv's Air provide two accommodation options. One is a house in Steinbach town and they also have three houses (trailers) located at the airfield. If you are staying in town, they will let you use one of the school cars, free of charge, to get to and from the airfield. I spent a couple nights there until a room became free at the school. Accommodation in both places is excellent. There's a good mix of both Canadian and International students both in the school and staying at the houses, so you get to meet people from all over the world. When I was there, there were a good few of us from Europe and a few guys from India, Oman and Kenya. I have to say, the on-site accommodation at Harv's Air was a big factor for me. Its great living so close, as you can just come and go as you please. Its a great feeling to be able to get up in the morning, wander over to the flight school, take a look at the weather and say, "yep, I think I'll go flying today." They also have a couple cars that you can rent to go into town for groceries or whatever else you might need to do. Steinbach itself is a quirky little town but the people were just so friendly and helpful. Its amazing but I actually kinda miss the place!
I wont go into all the school has offer as they do a good enough job of this on their website. Its a small, family run school and has a real family atmosphere. Everyone there is so friendly and they go out of their way to introduce themselves to you. The instructors are all first class. I never heard anyone complain about their instructor. If you have any questions, they are always willing to stop and help you out. All the aircraft are in good condition. Again, you can check out the fleet on the website. I mostly flew their C152's and also the Warrior. They have a pretty good computerised booking system and as long as you book a day or two in advance you wont have a problem. I certainly never had any problems getting an aircraft. There's a dedicated dispatch staff to help and they have their own maintenance facility on site.
The airspace is southern Manitoba is wide open, although it can get pretty busy in the circuit. Steinbach North is located just to the north of Steinbach and is about 2 minutes flying time from Steinbach South. If I wanted to do some circuit practice and Steinbach South was too busy, I used to just go up there and at most there might be one or two other aircraft in the circuit. Winnipeg International is about 30nm to the north and there was never any problems getting in for a touch and go. ATC were always very friendly and helpful. Its great to be able to go in there and mix it up with the big boys. They'll usually let you fly over downtown on the way back too.
It took a bit of time getting used to navigating across the snow covered prairies, plus Manitoba is fairly flat and featureless but I quickly got used to it and found it easier navigating when there was snow on the ground as the roads and towns tended to stand out more. As you fly east into Ontario, the landscape changes dramatically into lakes and forest. Its incredibly beautiful. Most of the aircraft are equipped with GPS anyway, so if you do find yourself getting lost, you can always cross check your position with that.
One of the highlights of my four weeks was flying down to the US. A great experience. While I was there, one of the other hour builder's went to Toronto for a few days and the guys I stayed with have just headed off on a big trip to Calgary during the week and if the weather conditions are right, they'll head over the Rockies and on to Vancouver. I'm so jealous as it would be an awesome trip!
I certainly have no complaints in choosing Harv's Air and wouldn't hesitate in recommending it to someone else but like anything in this business, do as much research as possible before you part with your cash. Harv's Air suited me and I was really glad in my decision but that's not to say it will suit you or your needs. Look at all your options.
If anyone has any queries or questions about the school, please feel free to PM me and I'll try and reply to you as soon as I can.
All the best in your decision.
Sprawler